The tunnel continued its gentle downward slope, twisting slightly.

The roughly carved stone walls gave way to sections lined with smoother, darker bricks, fitted together with an unnerving precision that hinted at intelligent construction, long abandoned.

Faint, eroded carvings occasionally appeared – more celestial symbols, similar to the 'forgotten sun' sigil outside, but warped, distorted, as if seen through troubled water.

…lost… light lost…

The whispers returned, different now. Less childlike despair, more ancient sorrow. They seemed to emanate from the very stones, echoes of whatever civilization built this place and then vanished.

My 'Mindbreaker' title dulled their impact, but couldn't erase them entirely. They were background noise, a constant, low thrum of psychic grief that frayed the edges of concentration.

The tunnel opened abruptly into a larger cavern. Not massive, but wider than the passage, maybe twenty meters across.

The ceiling here was higher, lost in shadow, and thick, rope-like vines covered in the same sickly green fungi hung down like grotesque chandeliers. The floor was uneven, littered with rubble – fallen bricks, shattered pottery, and… bones.

Humanoid bones, scattered and broken, some half-buried in the muck. Old. Ancient, even. But amongst them were newer remains – scuffed leather boots, a rusted sword hilt, a cracked hunter's guild token glinting faintly in the fungal light. Explorers. Adventurers who had found this place and never left.

And the source of the fresh blood smell.

Near the center of the cavern lay the carcass of some large, quadrupedal beast. Its hide was tough, grey, like rhino skin, but large patches were torn away, revealing raw muscle and shattered bone.

Its head was missing, severed cleanly.

Dark blood pooled beneath it, still glistening wetly. Judging by the size and remaining features, maybe a C-Rank Burrower or Stonehide Lizard. Killed recently. Very recently.

But what killed it?

My eyes scanned the cavern again, slower this time. The fungal light flickered, casting deceptive shadows. Was something lurking amongst the rubble? Hiding within the hanging vines?

…watcher… waits…

The whisper felt closer, sharper, laced with a cold intelligence the Grubs hadn't possessed.

My Quantum Analysis Mind passively scanned the ambient mana. Fluctuations detected. Multiple signatures, C-Rank range, converging.

Movement signatures registered – low, skittering sounds from the shadowed edges of the cavern, too faint for normal hearing but picked up by my enhanced senses.

They were circling. Waiting. Ambush predators.

I needed to act, but charging blindly was foolish. My Ice Domain was effective for control, especially against low-level swarms, but its casting time was a fraction too long, and its mana cost, while manageable, wasn't ideal for sustained combat against multiple C-Rank opponents.

Frost Edge and my lightning infusions were single-target or narrow-arc. Shadow Swap and Swift Step were for mobility, not widespread offense.

I needed something else. Something fast, disruptive, and leveraging the raw, untamed power of the Lightning affinity I'd recently, painfully, acquired.

Something that could hit multiple targets at once, breaking their coordinated approach before they could fully spring their trap.

My gaze flicked towards a relatively clear alcove near the cavern entrance, partially shielded by a fallen pillar. A risky move, but necessary.

Decision made.

With a burst of Swift Step, I flickered back towards the alcove, Draken held ready. The moment I moved, the shadows erupted.

Skittering sounds intensified as multiple figures darted from the darkness – low-slung, quadrupedal creatures resembling large, emaciated hounds.

Their fur was patchy, revealing sickly grey skin stretched taut over sharp ribs.

Their eyes glowed with a malevolent red light, and long, dripping fangs protruded from their snapping jaws. Shadow Hounds. C-Rank beasts known for their speed, pack tactics, and debilitating shadow-infused bites.

[Shadow Hound (6) – Rank: C-]

[Type: Beast / Shadow Affinity]

[Threat Level: High (Pack Tactics)]

Six of them. Fast. Coordinated. Deadly in the gloom.

I reached the alcove just as the first hound lunged, its fangs aimed at my throat. I parried with Draken, sparks flying as its shadow-coated teeth scraped against the divine metal. The force of the impact jarred my arm.

"Stay back!" I roared, unleashing a pulse of raw Ice mana – not a full domain, just a localized Frost Nova.

The wave of cold blasted outwards, forcing the hounds to momentarily recoil, their movements stiffening slightly in the sudden chill.

It bought me maybe five seconds. Barely enough time.

I dropped into a crouch within the alcove, one hand keeping Draken defensively angled, the other raised, palm open.

"System!" I commanded mentally. "Open Creation Skill!"

The familiar blue interface bloomed in my mind's eye, superimposed over the snarling hounds cautiously circling just beyond my frost nova's reach.

[CREATION SKILL INTERFACE]

[Available SP: 224,720]

[Select Skill Base Type: Attack / Defense / Utility / Enhancement / ???]

"Attack," I thought, my focus absolute despite the growling threats inches away.

[Select Damage Type: Physical / Elemental / Psychic / ???]

"Elemental. Lightning."

[Select Target Type: Single / Multi / Area of Effect (AoE)]

"AoE."

[Define Parameters: Range, Duration, Effect, Mana Cost, Casting Time.]

[Warning: Higher complexity increases SP cost exponentially.]

My mind raced, visualizing the effect I needed. Not a sustained field like Ice Domain. Something faster. A burst. A chain reaction hitting multiple targets, disrupting their formation, maybe even stunning them.

Range: 10-meter radius burst. Duration: Instantaneous discharge, lingering static effect 3 seconds. Effect: Chain Lightning arcs between targets, prioritizing highest mana signatures.

Primary Damage: Lightning. Secondary Effect: Minor Paralysis (1-second duration). Mana Cost: High (estimated 400 MP per cast). Casting Time: 0.5 seconds (requires hand seal). SP Cost Calculation: Processing… Estimated Cost: 50,000 SP.

My mental breath hitched. Fifty thousand SP. Nearly a quarter of my reserves, gone in one go. For a single C-Rank level skill.

The cost was brutal. But facing six C-Rank Shadow Hounds in close quarters, potentially with more lurking, demanded a decisive tool.

Worth it.

[Confirm Skill Creation? Parameters Locked.]

"Confirm! Name it… Judgment Chain."

[DING~ Creating Skill: Judgment Chain (Lightning AoE - Purple Rank)]

[Deducting 50,000 SP…]

[SP Remaining: 174,720]

[Skill Integration Commencing… Warning: High Mana Resonance Detected. Stabilizing…]

A jolt, sharp and electric, shot through my mana core. Not painful like the affinity awakening, but intense, like a high-voltage circuit suddenly completing.

My fingers tingled, sparks dancing faintly in the air around my raised palm. Knowledge flooded my mind – the precise hand seal needed, the exact mana flow required to shape and unleash the chaotic energy of lightning into controlled arcs.

[Skill Acquired: Judgment Chain]

[Rank: Purple]

[Type: Active AoE (Lightning)]

[Description: Unleash arcs of volatile lightning that chain between enemies within a 10-meter radius, prioritizing up to 5 targets. Deals significant Lightning damage and inflicts Minor Paralysis for 1 second.]

[Cost: 400 Mana]

[Cast Time: 0.5 seconds (Hand Seal Required)]

[Cooldown: 15 seconds]

The entire creation process, from decision to acquisition, had taken less than three seconds in real-time, thanks to my accelerated thinking. But it felt like an eternity.

The hounds, recovering from the Frost Nova, lunged again, their red eyes burning with predatory hunger.

No time to admire my new creation. Time to use it.

My free hand snapped into the newly learned seal – fingers interlaced, thumbs extended, a gesture that felt both alien and intimately familiar. Mana surged, crackling, gathering into my palm, turning the air thick with the scent of ozone.

"Judgment Chain!"

I slammed my palm onto the stone floor of the alcove.

KRA-KOOOOM!

Blue-white lightning exploded outwards, not as a single blast, but as dozens of crackling tendrils that snaked across the cavern floor with impossible speed.

The first arc struck the lead hound, engulfing it in searing energy. Before the light faded, the lightning leaped, chaining instantly to the next closest hound, then the next, and the next, weaving a deadly web of electrical fury across the cavern.

The hounds shrieked, their bodies convulsing violently as the electricity coursed through them.

The Minor Paralysis effect locked their muscles for a precious second, interrupting their coordinated attack. Black smoke rose from scorched fur and flesh. The psychic whispers in my head dissolved into a cacophony of digital static and pain.

Four of the six hounds collapsed, twitching, their red eyes flickering before extinguishing. Their C-Rank durability couldn't withstand the focused, chaining power of a Purple-Rank spell fueled by my enhanced INT and mana pool.

The remaining two staggered, heavily wounded, their shadow forms flickering erratically.

I didn't give them a chance to recover. Pushing off the alcove wall, I surged forward, Draken humming with Frost Edge. Two swift, clean slashes ended their suffering.

[Shadow Hounds (6) Defeated.]

[+1,800 SP]

[Shadow Essence Absorbed by Draken (Minor Enhancement)]

Silence returned to the cavern, broken only by the crackle of residual static fading from the air and the incessant drip… drip… plink of water. The stench of burnt fur overlaid the rotting sweetness.

I leaned against the fallen pillar, breathing heavily, feeling the significant drain on my mana reserves. Judgment Chain was powerful, devastatingly so, but costly. 400 mana per cast wasn't trivial.

Still… I looked at the scorched outlines on the floor where the hounds had fallen, then back at my tingling palm.

A grim smile touched my lips.

Fifty thousand SP well spent.

The cavern seemed darker now, the fungal light casting longer, more menacing shadows around the scattered bones and the cooling hound carcasses.

My path led deeper, towards the source of this vault's whispers and its waiting guardian. Whatever lay ahead, I now had a new weapon in my arsenal.

A chain forged of lightning. And I had a feeling I'd be needing it.

(To be continued)

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